Black background, black T-shirt and gaze towards the camera, Manuel Neuer kept it simple to announce his international retirement. At 38, the German goalkeeper has indeed decided to stop with his national team, after 124 caps, a Euro played at home, and extraordinary saves in the memories. A few weeks before the goalkeeper, Toni Kroos (permanent retirement), Thomas Müller and İlkay Gündoğan also announced their end of career with the national team. As a symbol of a radical change of generation and the end of this Germany that dominated, until now.
Neuer? The best
The beginning of the 21st century has been kind enough to offer us one of the greatest pools of goalkeepers in history. Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, Dida, Petr Čech, Oliver Kahn, Edwin van der Sar (both present since the end of the 1990s), and a good ten other names, have indeed left their mark on fans of reflexes on the line. However – nostalgia aside – it is difficult to find someone more impressive than Manuel Neuer. With his titanic size (1.93m, 92 kilos), his power against attackers and the firmness of his saves, the German theorized a position that was said to be reserved for the most eccentric. Pragmatism between the posts, to which was added a libero’s footwork, to complete this robotic work.
It is no surprise, ultimately, that in his wake emerged the German revival of the 2010s, punctuated by the overwhelming success at the 2014 World Cup. A benchmark tournament for Neuer, the Brazilian World Cup took on the appearance of a recital, almost frightening. From his crazy exits far from the surface against Algeria in the round of 16, to his one-handed save on a cross missile from Karim Benzema in the quarter-finals (the whole world having believed that the ball had been pushed back by the crossbar), through to his active participation in the humiliation of Brazil in the semi-finals (7-1), the goalkeeper’s highlights during this tournament are still engraved ten years later and will certainly remain so forever. Subsequently, if the team has begun its slight decline, it is difficult to dissociate this golden period from that of its guardian.
One last tour at Bayern Munich
Because as mentioned above, German football will now have to do without its winning men. With Neuer at the top, the list of key players who have helped our neighbour across the Rhine win is effectively running out month after month, and from this period 2010-2016, only Mats Hummels is still potentially selectable – not for much longer, however. To see the bright side of things, the withdrawal of Manuel Neuer should, fortunately, finally allow Marc-André ter Stegen to have a starting place. The 32-year-old FC Barcelona player has indeed long expressed frustration at his inability to dislodge his elder from the position. The latter has therefore taken charge of it himself, offering his younger brother the opportunity to play in his first World Cup, in two years in North America.
With the selection completed, all that remains is to know Neuer’s intentions at club level. Still a starter and captain at Bayern Munich, with whom he had a blank season for the first time since the 2011-2012 campaign, the goalkeeper seems to be starting on the same basis. Without competition (with the exception of his faithful second, Sven Ulreich), he could thus put on the gloves one last time before the end of his contract scheduled for June 2025. By then, Manuel Peter Neuer will have definitively entered the pantheon of the greatest. If he hasn’t already.
Neuer ends a beautiful adventure
